Luka Doncic appears to be turning over a new leaf in his fourth NBA season.
The Dallas Mavericks star appeared this week on JJ Redick’s “The Old Man and the Three” podcast. During the episode, Doncic said that he is making a major change to his game — he will no longer be complaining to referees.
“I had a little talk with myself,” said Doncic. “It was unacceptable, the way I was acting … I had a talk with myself and I just said, ‘This can’t keep going.’ It’s a really bad look. I knew I was doing this, but I kept going. It’s over. I had to tell myself: ‘No more, man.'”
Doncic has all the talent in the world at age 23 but often turns off fans with his constant griping to the officials. The three-time All-Star leads the NBA with 14 technical fouls this year. He was also recently called a crybaby by a retired NBA legend.
If Doncic is indeed done with complaining to the refs, he will be able to do a better job of getting back in transition defense and might even find that he starts getting a more favorable whistle. That can only help the Mavericks as they look to make their first deep playoff run in over a decade.
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